❛ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ❜ | jsc

12

they say you fall in love more than once in a lifetime, but only one of those will last. and so soulmates will change like the seasons do, when you truly believe your soulmate no longer loves you.

at the scene where sungchan proposed to bom, he was almost certain that no one was around. he didn't want anyone to see him proposing to a girl he didn't love.

however, aera had seen everything from her balcony, tears forming as he got on his knee for another girl then herself. tears gently ran down her cheek when she heard the girls answer.

"yes."

hearing one word was all it took for aera to drop down on the balcony floor, clutching her chest as she felt her heart physically rip into two.

when the heart of a soulmate breaks, it's a feeling even more painful than death. aera wondered if maybe she was the only one that had felt the connection between her and sungchan.

she watched as bom flung herself into sungchan's arms and decided that she couldn't watch anymore. she turned her body away as she was met with renjun's eyes.

her best friend, the most reliable person in her life. renjun's eyes also had tears in them, he hated to see aera in any type of pain. he kneeled down next to her and stroked her hair softly, leaning her head into his chest as he hugged her and whispered sweet, comforting words.

he was always there, ready to comfort her and now he was finally able to do so. as aera calmed down in his arms, his eyes found the sight of her soulmate mark on her arm and he watched it as the symbol faded a little.

"it's fading." he noted and aera looked at her arm.

the mark wasn't completely gone yet, but it was turning into a dull grey instead of the black that it once was. it was what was inevitable, seeing that sungchan didn't love aera, or so she thought.

as long as she believed that sungchan was pushing her away, the more the mark would fade until it would be completely nonexistent. then it would be replaced by a different mark and she would be linked to a completely different person.

at the moment, aera didn't know what she wanted. she was in love with sungchan per the effects of the soulmate bond, but she also secretly no longer wanted anything to do with him.

she pressed a finger on the mark, wondering if she had a new soulmate, maybe she would finally find the love that she craved for.

she looked up at renjun, brushing his bangs out of his eyes for him. "do you have a mark? i've never seen it."

renjun shrugged his shoulders. "i was never given one. perhaps i wasn't blessed with a soulmate."

aera frowned. in her opinion, renjun was beyond perfect. he was handsome and held princely features even though he was just a knight. he was skilled at fighting and yet extremely gentle at the same time. she felt it was unfair that he wasn't given a soulmate.

she placed a hand on his arm that was wrapped around her waist, patting it comfortingly. "maybe yours will just show up late."

renjun watched the girl in his arms as she stared up into the blue sky above them. having her in his arms like this made him want to tell her what he felt.

he didn't want a soulmate because he wouldn't be able to bear it if it wasn't her.

the truth was that huang renjun had completely fallen in love with aera for years now and he hadn't been able to stop continuing to fall in love with her with each passing day.

———————————————————————————

aera sat on the cushions of her father's work room. as the royal professor, he was given a rather luxurious and spacious room.

"have you met your soulmate yet?" professor moon asked his daughter curiously, watching her affectionately as she perused the stack of books next to her.

aera almost choked on air when she heard the question. "uh... no," she answered decidedly. she felt a wave of sadness by the mention of a soulmate.

her dad sighed. "what a shame, i want you to experience love soon. it's a wonderful thing."

aera blinked, a thought coming across her mind. "what happens if your soulmate mark starts to fade? you know i'm just curious."

professor moon glanced at his daughter "you'll lose that soulmate but you'll gain a new one. it is definitely rare, since most soulmates adore each other from the start. however, some are unlucky to have soulmates that do not reciprocate feelings. when you truly believe your soulmate no longer loves you, you'll slowly fall out of love as well and when you do so, you won't be linked anymore. but in return, you'll gain a new soulmate that truly adores you."

"what a strange system," aera muttered under her breath.

the door opened abruptly as a princely figure entered into the room, "professor moon, i'm here for my daily lesson-"

sungchan had spotted aera before he finished his sentence, staring at her awkwardly.

he hadn't seen her since the day he had proposed and although his insides were in a jumble at the sight of her, he pretended to be indifferent while looking at her.

she was wearing a lilac dress the, the smooth silk draped across her figure beautifully.

the tiny straps around her shoulders seemed to be made of delicately woven flowers and it took everything in him not to give in and talk to her.

aera observed his cold demeanor towards her and slowly nodded to herself. she stood up and bowed to her father before saying. "i'll get going father."

professor moon looked shocked at his daughter. "aren't you going to greet the prince?" he asked her, feeling ashamed of her poor attitude.

aera glanced at sungchan and gave him a quick bow before walking out of the room. she waved at her father before fading in the distance.

with sharp eyes, sungchan noticed the mark on aera's arm. it seemed to be alot less dark then he remembered and when she exited the room, he lifted his sleeve to examine his.

his mark was still pitch black.